The Apprentice
by zeropolis79
Summary: [REPOST] After stopping Voldemort from taking the stone, Harry becomes the apprentice of Nicolas Flamel. How will his life change away from the Durssleys? Dumbledore/Dursley bashing, mild Ron bashing
1. Chapter 1

_As usual, I don't own anything._

_**This is the latest in my series of rewrites and possible expansions to my previously completed stories. I've taken onboard various suggestions on dialogue and actions and will hopefully come up with a better story. I'm considering changing the pairings for this story to my preferred combination of Harry/Daphne instead of Harry/Tracey but there is still time to go.**_

**The Apprentice**

**Chapter 1**

"There is one more visitor for you Mr. Potter," Madam Pomfrey said. She opened the door and a man a lot older than Dumbledore walked in and went over to Harry.

"Afternoon, Mr. Potter. I am Nicolas Flamel," the stranger said.

"You're the creator of the Philosopher's stone!" Harry said.

"So you did your research after all. Albus told me of what you and your friends did to stop the stone from falling into the hands of Voldemort. I am very impressed," Flamel answered.

"Professor Dumbledore told me that the stone is now destroyed and you will soon die," Harry continued.

"That is partly true, Mr. Potter. My wife and I have enough elixir of life for us to live another ten years, but after that, we will die. We will also die sooner if we do not take the elixir but I wish to pass on my knowledge first."

"Have you considered teaching then, Mr. Flamel?" Harry asked.

"Call me Nicolas. I taught Charms not long after I finished being educated at an Irish School of Magic. But I'd rather take someone on to be my apprentice and I would like that person to be you Mr. Potter."

"Call me Harry. What would I have to do?" Harry asked.

"During the summer, you would come to me three times a week and I will pass on my knowledge."

"I'm afraid I won't be able to – my relatives are rather fearful of magic, they were reluctant to let me come here and they won't support any magical education during the holidays."

"Ah yes, I've heard about them. Under the terms of becoming an apprentice, you can choose to live with your mentor. Also, Muggles cannot override these wishes. As it happens, when I considered offering you this apprenticeship, I checked up on the legal issues surrounding the Dursleys. Did you know that you were not supposed to go to them in the first place? Your placement there is a direct violation of your parent's wishes. So, if you accept my offer and you will not have to live with them again."

"Really? I accept your offer of apprenticeship," Harry replied with a joyous expression.

"Thank you, Harry – I've been looking forward to getting an apprentice as eagerly as you. We will discuss further things after term finishes and you have your marks for the year. That will help me plan on what to teach you."

"Thank you, Nicolas," Harry said.

TA

Expecting trouble from Dumbledore, Nicolas gave Harry a book on Apprenticeship Law before he left so Harry did not end up talking himself back to the Dursley's in any meetings with Dumbledore. Needless to say, the day before term finished, Dumbledore summoned Harry to his office.

"Morning, Mr. Potter. Please take a seat," Dumbledore said. "Now, I understand you've become the apprentice of Nicolas Flamel, which will involve being taught by him at his home during the holidays. I'm afraid I cannot allow that – it is unsafe for you to leave your relative's home."

"As it happens, Professor," Harry began. "Under the Apprenticeship Act, 1978, I can choose to live with my mentor if an offer is made, which I accepted. Nicolas also found out the Dursleys' guardianship of me was illegal and he has petitioned the Wizengamot for full custody, citing reasons he has not gone into with me. So, as I understand it, if you try to send me to the Dursley's, Nicolas can have you up on kidnapping charges and by telling me that you won't allow me to take on the apprenticeship, you are violating a sacred honour which comes about with such an offer."

Dumbledore was gobsmacked – he had not expected Harry to know all this.

"Mr. Potter – remember I told you that you lived because your mother sacrificed herself to save you? It created a bond which will protect you from harm if you can live somewhere where your mother's blood flows. The only place is with Petunia and or Dudley Dursley."

"So, if Petunia died, I would have to remain with Vernon and Dudley?"

"I'm afraid so."

"I don't think so, Professor. The Dursley's don't want me, they never did. According to Nicolas, they only took me in because you told them that they would remain safe from Voldemort's followers and that they would be paid handsomely. But because you couldn't get hold of any of my money, they had to go without. Vernon makes a handsome wage and they used it to ruin Dudley."

Dumbledore began to say something else but Harry interrupted him. "You may threaten to expel me, but Nicolas informs me that if you attempt to do so, he will sign me up with another magical school – it appears that his name carries more weight than yours. You cannot expel me because I am not living with someone not of your choice."

Harry left the room and went to Gryffindor Tower.

TA

The next day, on the train home, Harry was sitting with Ron and Hermione in their usual carriage.

"What are you going to be doing during the holidays?" Ron asked.

"My parents are taking me to Italy for a few weeks," Hermione answered.

"Leaving the Dursley's forever and beginning an apprenticeship with Nicolas Flamel," Harry answered.

Both Ron and Hermione were flabbergasted. Harry decided to explain. "Nicolas has decided that before he dies, he wants to pass on his knowledge to an apprentice and for some reason, he chose me."

"Will he let you visit us?" Ron asked.

"We'll have to see how it goes and go from there," Harry said.

TA

The train stopped at Platform 9 ¾'s – the guard let them out a few at a time as not to surprise the Muggles. Harry looked around – in one corner, he saw the Dursley's and in the other, he saw Nicolas with a woman he presumed to be his wife. Harry walked over to them.

"Ready, Harry?" Nicolas asked. Harry nodded and the three walked away as the Dursley's walked over to them.

"What are you doing with him?" Vernon demanded to know.

"Harry here has decided to become my apprentice, Mr. Dursley and as I told you before during our prior meeting, since you never applied for guardianship and any such guardianship would be against his parent's wishes, it would be illegal. The courts have placed him in my custody, so please, go away."

Vernon looked as if he was going to get violent but realised he would not get away with it with so many witnesses. He and Petunia stormed away.

TA

An hour later, Harry and the Flamel's arrived at their home.

"Alright Harry, before we do anything else, we need to have a talk." Nicolas said. The trio sat down at a table.

"I've had a look at your marks over the year. They are generally very good, except for Potions, but there are comments stating that it seems you are holding back. Can you tell me why?"

"Well," Harry said, although he hesitated, "Vernon would lose his temper if I did better than Dudley. He would say it ruined Dudley's self esteem and I brought shame on his family by doing better. It never escalated to violence, but it was safer for everyone if I held back and make out he was better. I didn't want to risk them being sent a copy of my marks at Hogwarts as it would escalate to violence. I never held back in Potions though despite Draco Malfoy and Snape doing their best to disrupt me."

Nicolas and Perenelle looked grim. Perenelle muttered vague threats aimed at the Dursley's under her breath and Harry could have sworn he heard her say something about trying out some new hexes on them.

"Very well Harry. Starting tomorrow for a week, I will be testing you on all these subjects to see how much you are holding back. You should know now that you will not be punished for bad marks – if there is a mark that warrants concern, we will take a look at the work which earnt the mark and see what can be done to improve it."

"Nicolas," Harry began, "After Snape began giving bad marks for mine and my friend Hermione's work, we discovered a charm which would preserve the potion for a time which we planned to send to an independent Potions master for review of the marks. Dumbledore somehow found out and told us that such a thing was against the school rules."

"I've heard things about Snape's so-called teachings. Things used to be so much better at Hogwarts before Dumbledore took over. I am a certified Potions Master, so if you could retrieve the potions for me, I will mark them for you and make sure the revised marks are sent to Professor McGonagall to be entered into your records. If you contact your friend Miss. Granger, I will mark her potions as-well."

"A question sir, how come you chose me over Hermione or Ron? They contributed as much with the stone." Harry asked.

"A very good question Harry. Miss. Granger's marks, besides from Potions, are the best Hogwarts have ever seen since your mother was a student. Mr. Weasley however, barely scrapped a passing grade. I think some sort of influence is being passed to make sure he continues into the next year. I refuse to teach anyone who does not put enough effort into his studies."

"I know – Hermione and I have to threaten him before he does homework and even then, he rushes it." said Harry.

"As for Miss. Granger, I'm afraid the law will not allow me to take on a Muggleborn as an apprentice. I wanted to take your mother on as an apprentice when she was your age, but the Ministry wouldn't allow it."

Harry was silent. He didn't know what to say when it came to his parents. "Did you know my parents, sir? I don't remember anything at all about them. My relatives kept telling me they were drunks who died in a car crash. Hagrid told me when he gave me my letter that they were killed by Voldemort."

"I knew your father – your family were friends of mine for many generations and if they were plentiful today, I would have got them to look after the stone. Now, I have some basic rules to tell you.

"For the first two weeks, I ask that you get all your homework assignments done and over with. Then, afterwards, we will be spending three days a week, for six hours each, learning. I will be giving you occasional homework assignments to do and some of them will be tricky."

"OK Nicholas." Harry said.

"You will be permitted to send as many letters to your friends as you like and can receive as many as you like too. The grounds are open to you to practice your flying on. I understand you are the youngest Seeker in a century and are the proud owner of a Nimbus 2000 broom."

"Yes sir. I wouldn't mind the chance to be able to make my own broom someday." Harry said.

"I might be able to arrange something involving that Harry. One final rule, you can come and go to the village at weekends or any days you have free. All I ask that you inform either myself or Perenelle before you go though, so we know where you are."

"Yes sir." Harry said.

"By the time we're finished Harry, you will be able to make your own Philosopher's Stone." Nicolas said.

TA

Please review, with thanks to those who do.


	2. Chapter 2

As usual, I don't own a thing.

**Chapter Two**

In her office, Minerva McGonagall looked through the exam results of her first years. Top of the class was Hermione Granger – she had never seen marks that good from a Muggleborn since Lily Evans, who would later go onto marry that rather annoying but talented James Potter.

What concerned her the most was Harry Potter's marks. She had great expectations from him, but in all his exams, he had got 60% although he had scored 40% in Potions, the minimum score required to pass. There were some comments on the Charms paper that Harry seemed to be holding back and was not too keen to look too clever. McGonagall had to agree with Flitwick there, in her classes, Harry seemed not too keen to appear too good. Both James and Lily excelled in Transfiguration while Lily was also excellent in Charms. It also occurred to her that from Harry's work from the first few lessons, he didn't seem to know a thing about magic. Hagrid had told her that he didn't know anything before he told Harry that he was a wizard.

Snape reported that Harry's conduct in Potions was abysmal, sabotaging other students' work, constant misbehaving and serving a record number of detentions, despite Harry protesting that he had nothing to do with sabotage or misbehaving. McGonagall believed him but without testimony to the contrary, there was little she could do about it. Sadly, no one would confirm Harry's side of the story but she did find it strange that all the accusations had come from Draco Malfoy. There was a rumour that he constantly threatened people with the wrath of his father and so anyone was frightened to come forward.

Her concentration was broken when an owl dropped a letter in front of her. She opened it and read it – it was from Nicolas Flamel. She had heard that he had taken Harry on as an apprentice. Her blood boiled as she read it. _I told Albus about the Dursleys! He feared that if he proved too talented, they might kill him._ She continued reading, I keep telling Albus about Severus – he's taking his grudge against James Potter too far if he's only just giving Harry a passing mark. At the bottom of the parchment, was a vial with a pensieve memory. The letter stated that it was Harry's memory of the Potions exam and it also included Nicolas' revised grade (86%). She put the memory in her Pensieve (which belonged to her late husband) and watched the exam. _There was nothing wrong with that!_ She said to herself.

McGonagall stormed into Dumbledore's office where he was in a meeting with Snape.

"What do you think you are doing, almost failing Harry Potter on purpose?" she asked.

"Because that brat has no place at Hogwarts and if I had my way, he'd be left with those Muggles." Snape said.

"What's this all about Minvera?" Dumbledore asked.

"The fact that Nicolas Flamel has seen the memory of Harry's Potions exam and a vial of the potion brewed, and has concluded that his exam grade, along with the rest of the year's work was marked down on purpose. He has sent the memory and vial to the exam board to have it regraded accordingly. Also, the fears that Harry was holding back on his work was justified – he was in fear of his life from the Muggles if they found out he was too good at magic."

"Oh yeah, I bet. All that would have happened to him would be that they stop treating him like a king," Snape said, "I told you that Potter was raised very spoilt and should not be permitted here. He flaunts his fame. He got onto the Quidditch team thanks to it."

"So you call owning clothing four times his size and looking like he was never fed being treated like a king? I'm glad Nicolas has taken Harry on as his apprentice – maybe he'll come back next year looking like a healthy boy! I'm going to make it clear to Poppy that if she helped you cover up the Dursleys' treatment of him, I'll be reporting her to the medical board for dereliction of duty." McGonagall turned to leave, "Oh, by the way, I'm arranging for Harry to retake his exams so when the results come by, they'll be entered into his file. Oh, Severus, I have never seen Mr. Potter exploit his fame, that is all delusions on your part. He got onto the Quidditch team on pure talent!" She stormed out of the office leaving Dumbledore and Snape looking dumbstruck.

Over the next week, Harry completed his homework assignments. Once he had finished each one, Nicolas had a look at it to see if any of it could be improved upon. He did have to remind Harry that because the Dursleys no longer had any hold over him, he need not hold back and to do his absolute best. The homework Nicolas looked at after that discussion was a lot better.

"I won't let any student of mine turn in shoddy work Harry." He said.

"Vernon and Petunia weren't fussy on how Dudley's homework was, as long as it was better than mine." Harry said.

"Oh." Nicolas said. He wasn't saying anything, but Perenelle was planning some sort of revenge against the Dursleys. The Flamels put Harry on a balanced diet to help him put on some weight and to help his system adjust to regular meals.

"You said the other day that you would have liked to take Hermione on but the law prevented you from taking on a Muggleborn apprentice," Harry began, "Does it mean I'm a second choice?"

"Of course not Harry!" he said, "In a perfect world, I would have taken both of you on, you both show great potential. But as I said, the law prevents me from taking Miss. Granger on."

"Have you ever thought of any possible loopholes in the law?" Harry asked.

"What do you mean?" Nicolas asked.

"The law prevents you from taking her on as an apprentice? (Nicolas nodded.) Well, I've not heard anything about any law that says Muggleborns can't be invited to wizarding homes. We can invite her here while you're teaching me. It's not like we can brainwash her into forgetting everything."

"Harry – what do you know of memory charms?" Nicolas asked, concerned.

"I've never heard of them," Harry said, "I've heard the term brainwashing in Muggle fiction where they do all sorts to make someone go over to their side or to wipe their memories."

"That's alright then," Nicolas said, "I didn't want to think you were talking about using memory charms but I see now your comments were in jest."

"Also, what's to stop Hermione receiving certain papers via Hedwig – she'll deliver anything if there's bacon at the end of it." Harry said.

Nicolas thought for a moment. "You're right there Harry! I don't know why I never thought of it before. You say she's abroad on holiday right now? (Harry nodded.) We'll invite her around when she gets back." Nicolas turned to leave the room but turned back. "Oh, while I remember, Perenelle would like to know what you would like to do on your birthday."

"We don't really need to do anything, sir." Harry said, suddenly becoming formal again, remembering his time with the Dursleys, "Since my parents died, my birthday has never been celebrated. Uncle Vernon says freaks don't deserve birthdays. Hagrid brought me my owl and he did make a birthday cake, although Dudley ate it."

"What came with you to the Dursleys from your old home?" Nicolas asked.

"As far as I know, nothing. If anything did, they either destroyed it or gave it to Dudley. I had no idea who my parents were, again until Hagrid told me or even what they looked like until he gave me a photo album just before the end of term. Aunt Petunia never had any photos of them in the house, or any of me. Because of my scruffy appearance, thanks to them, I was never allowed to participate in school photographs."

Nicolas had heard enough and left the room.

That evening, things were very peaceful at Number 4 Privet Drive. Vernon and Petunia were entertaining a couple in the hope of securing a very lucrative business deal.

"Without that freak to ruin things," Vernon said to Petunia and Dudley before the guests arrived, "the deal is a clinch. We'll have it done and signed by the News at Ten and this time tomorrow, we'll be the proud owners of a new holiday home in Spain."

Right now, the adults were enjoying brandy in the living room when a pounding noise could be heard from the front door. **Dudley answered it, then Nicolas and Perenelle stormed into the room.**

"What is the meaning of this?" Vernon demanded.

"There are some things we need to talk about Dursley," Nicolas said, "We can either talk about it in private or here in front of your clients."

Vernon decided discression was the better idea so he led Nicolas and Pernella into a side room.

"Now what's this all about?" he asked.

"The way you treated your nephew for one." Nicolas said, "Giving him next to no food, giving him your son's cast-off clothing, treating him like a slave! Complaining if he got better marks than your son, need I go on?"

"What food we gave him, was more than he deserved. If I had my way," Vernon roared, "he would have starved. He was only worthy of that cupboard and by earning higher grades than Dudley, he was bringing shame on this family. We NEVER wanted him!"

Mr. Mason, the potential client, was now at the door. He had heard the shouting and decided to see what was going on. "Is this true Dursley?"

Dudley decided to open his big mouth. "Yeah it's true Mr. Mason. I used to push him down stairs and got paid for doing so, I turned everyone at school against him, Dad turned the teachers against him, Mum turned the neighbourhood against him! The little freak has no one and he goes to a school for freaks. He tried to grass on us but Dad made it go away. Dad – when is our slave coming back?" Nicolas, Perenelle along with Mr. & Mrs. Mason looked at the Dursleys with evil in their eyes.

"Until these revelations were made Dursley, I was going to sign the deal with Grunnings, even if your Japanese golfer joke was in very poor taste. But now, I'm going to take the deal to your rivals and I'll be getting them to take your workers on because after I'm through, no one will want to do business with Grunnings again. There is one thing I refuse to tolerate and that is child abuse." Mr. Mason said.

"What we did was not child abuse!" Vernon roared, "What we did was allowed under the law."

"What you did was child abuse and there is no denying that! Starving children is abuse. Locking them in cupboards is abuse. Turning everyone against him is abuse! Where is your nephew now?" Mr. Mason roared.

"Young Harry is in my care now," Nicolas said, "I offered him a placement as my apprentice during school holidays. Right now, we're concentrating on making him look healthy and as soon as we can, we're going to buy him decent clothing."

"Oh no, you're not!" Vernon said, "Anything you buy for him, you will give to us for Dudley to wear."

"Shut up Dursley. Your hold over my student is over – he'll never be seeing you again. I may be old, but I can still pack a punch."

Mr. & Mrs. Mason had left by now. Vernon was going purple.

"No one talks to me like that!" he shouted.

Nicolas and Pernella pointed their wands at the trio and cast a series of hexes at them. After the Flamels left, the Dursleys were fighting the effects of very painful hexes which would wear off after 24 hours.

The following morning, Nicolas took Harry to the Ministry, to the Department of Education. He took his young apprentice to see Griselda Marchbanks.

"Ah, Mr. Potter," she said, "You're here to retake your first year exams. It has been claimed that Severus Snape rigged your Potions grade to a bare pass while in fear of your Muggle relatives, you held back on others."

"Yes Madam Marchbanks." Harry said.

"The exam papers, for obvious reasons are not the exact same ones as you took at Hogwarts, but still covers the first year curriculum. Lord Flamel, you may sit with me, if you please. Otherwise, you'll have to wait outside."

Harry took his seat and looked at the first exam paper – Transfiguration. Over the next six hours (with bathroom breaks), he finished all his written exams, then did the practical portion. The exams were all graded during lunch.

"You've done very well here Mr. Potter," Madam Marchbanks said, "You now have the second highest grades of your year, after your friend Miss. Granger."

"I told you that you could do it." Nicolas said.

"Thank you sir." Harry said.

That afternoon, Nicolas led Harry into a large room. There, they were greeted by a few adults, including a man who looked upon Harry like an uncle would his favourite nephew.

"Afternoon Mr. Potter, I am Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic." He said.

"Are you?" Harry asked, not knowing who the Minister was or what he looked like.

"Don't you know who I am?" Fudge asked, slightly hurt.

"Sorry sir, I don't." Harry replied.

"I apologize Minister," Nicolas said, "Harry was illegally placed with his Muggle relatives with the intent that he not learn anything about our world until he attended Hogwarts and then what he does learn be kept to a minimum. His relatives do know about magic, they just chose to deny it exists. I've been telling him what I can since he's been staying at my home."

"I apologize for my reaction there Mr. Potter," Fudge said, "I had no idea you didn't know much about our world. Anyhow, I heard that today, you were being sworn in as Nicolas Flamel's apprentice and thought I would officiate."

"Thank you sir." Harry said.

"No problem at all." Fudge said, in a cheerful tone, "Shall we get started?"

Fudge and the two other people went behind a desk while Nicolas and Harry stood in front of it.

"Becoming an apprentice is a very honourable deed," Fudge began, "It is even greater if the master or mistress is someone well versed in their field. Harry James Potter, you have been chosen to become the apprentice of Nicolas Flamel. Do you accept this responsibility?"

"NO HE DOESN'T!" a loud voice could be heard from outside and Dumbledore came in.

"What is the meaning of this?" Fudge asked.

"Harry does not wish to become Nicolas' apprentice. His relatives do not give their consent to him becoming an apprentice. He needs to return to his relative's home and away from all things magic, Hogwarts excepted, to keep him safe from the Death Eaters." Dumbledore said.

"As it happens Minister," Nicolas said, "Albus violated the terms of James and Lily Potter's wills by placing him with the Dursleys, it stated that he was not to go anywhere near them and that guardianship was go to either myself and my wife or Sirius Black. Since Mr. Black is in Azkaban, myself and my wife should have been Mr. Potter's legal guardians. Harry is not safe with the Dursleys, he actually fears for his life. My wife and myself visited them yesterday and they freely admitted starving him, making him live in a cupboard under the stairs, forcing him through threats of violence to hold back at school, as not to tarnish their name by being better than their son, who, as a matter of fact, admitted to frequently pushing him down stairs, organising 'Harry Hunting' parties which would end in violence and finally having turned everyone who could have helped him against him, including law enforcement, teaching staff and neighbours. Frequent bribery was mentioned. When I spoke about buying decent clothing, all that he owned were hand-me-down's from his cousin, who is very huge, Vernon Dursley told me that we were to give the stuff to them for his son to wear. They also spent years telling him that James and Lily were drunk good-for-nothing freaks who got themselves killed in a Muggle car crash, and he didn't even know their names until Rubeus Hagrid told him a year ago when Harry's Hogwarts letter was delivered."

"Is this true?" Fudge asked. Harry reluctantly nodded. Nicolas handed over a copy of the will to Fudge who read it.

"Minister Fudge," Nicolas continued, "Under the Apprentice Act, Muggle guardians do not need to give consent for someone to become an apprentice. Before I offered the opportunity to Mr. Potter, I checked into the legal side of things and along with the will, I found I was in my full legal right to offer him this apprenticeship. Under his rights under the Act, Harry chose to spend the holidays with me."

"Very well. The objection by Albus Dumbledore is rejected. There is no evidence to show that Harry's interests would be filled by returning to the Muggle world." Fudge said.

"Harry – I plead with you to reconsider," Dumbledore said, "The wards around the Dursley household are now down and they are open to attack from anyone."

"I don't care about them Headmaster." Harry said, "Now, if you don't mind, we have a swearing in ceremony to finish."

Fudge continued. "Harry James Potter, do you accept the responsibility of being an apprentice?"

"Yes, I do. I accept Nicolas Flamel as my master and myself as his apprentice." Harry said.

"Congratulations Mr. Potter," Fudge said, "You are now the apprentice of Nicolas Flamel." On Harry's robes (brought for the occasion), the crest of the House of Flamel appeared with a small banner saying 'Apprentice' on them.

"Thank you Minister." Harry said.

"You're making a mistake here Harry." Dumbledore said, "The wards around Privet Drive are now down, you must go there until term begins to recharge them."

"I never considered that place home Headmaster," Harry said, "It was more a prison to me than a home. I consider Master Flamel's house my home now."

He and Nicolas walked out of the room, leaving Dumbledore stunned.

"You don't know what you've done!" Dumbledore eventually shouted.


	3. Chapter 3

_As usual, I don't own anything._

**I've made many changes here.. especially when it comes to the Dursley tormenting. **

**Chapter Three**

"What sort of rubbish is Hogwarts teaching** these days?"** Nicolas** wanted to know.** He was looking at The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2, "When I was your age, we were learning switching and summoning spells!"

Harry looked at him, not knowing what he was talking about.

"I bet you anything that Lucius Malfoy and the pureblood brigade are trying to make things way too easy for everyone."

"The summoning spell will be today's lesson. The incantation is Accio." He pointed hid wand at a book on the table next to Harry. "Accio book." The book went flying into Nicolas' hand.

"With practice, you can summon an item straight into your hand." Nicolas explained, "Now you try it."

"Accio book." Harry said, pointing his wand at the book in Nicolas' hand. The book shuddered a little but didn't move.

"Not a bad reaction for a first go Harry." Nicolas said, "Don't feel discouraged."

For the next hour, Harry tried again and again, pointing his wand at various objects but he had no luck. **Perenelle** walked into the room carrying a small chocolate cake.

"I thought you would like a treat Harry," she said, "We must fatten you up."

She picked the wrong time to enter the room as Harry cast another summoning spell. Suddenly, the cake flew off the tray and landed with a splat. Perenelle hid a smile and Harry turned around to see Nicolas, whose face was covered with chocolate cake.

"That's the basic idea Harry, but don't try to put too much power into the spell otherwise it might backfire." Then he started to laugh.

Among the spell-work lessons, Nicolas also gave Harry lesson in alchemy. In the first lesson, he was holding a Muggle book.

"Forget what books like these tell you about alchemy and the process of turning metal into gold, it's a whole load of rubbish!" he said, "it's just something Muggle writers dream of just to make themselves look good."

"Ron – have you written to Harry to invite him to stay?" Molly Weasley asked.

"I've written to him a dozen times." Ron said to his mother, "But there's been no reply. He's not sent me anything either."

"I'll write to Nicolas Flamel and give him a piece of my mind. He shouldn't be stopping Harry from being in contact with his friends."

At breakfast the following morning, an old owl came and delivered a letter from Molly Weasley.

"Harry," Nicolas said, "Why did you not tell us Ron Weasley had invited you to stay? His mother's thinking I'm keeping you from your friends."

"He's not sent me anything," Harry said, feeling sad, "No-one's sent me any mail at all. I've not even received the Hogwarts book list for the year."

"Would you like to spend a week at their home? Your homework is all done and you've made a good start as my apprentice. It will give you a chance to have a breather and a bit of rest."

"It would be nice please," Harry said, "Ron was my first friend, the Dursleys made sure I didn't have any growing up."

"I've only heard you mention Mr. Weasley and Miss. Granger. Don't you have any other friends?" Perenelle asked.

"No. I turned down Draco Malfoy's offer of friendship because he acted like Dudley. If Hagrid wasn't staff, he would be a friend. Hermione and I lost a hundred points because we tried to save Hagrid from getting into trouble when he tried to raise a dragon, the school turned against us. Then, after we prevented Voldemort from taking the stone, I seemed to be popular again. But no-one tried to be friends."

Arthur Weasley walked into his house holding a copy of the Daily Prophet.

"Ron – what do you know about letters written by you to your friend Harry being printed in the Prophet?" he asked. He dropped the paper on the table and everyone could see several of Ron's letters to Harry printed in full. There were also some of Harry's letters on show for both Ron and Hermione.

"That's nothing to do with me!" Ron shouted, "I bet Harry's doing it for more glory."

"No, my apprentice has not been leaking letters to the newspaper. We don't even receive it here and he's not received letters from your son." Nicolas said. He was talking to Molly Weasley in some fashion. Harry was surprised to see a woman's face in the fire, "The fact letters from both concern me, I will investigate things at once."

"What was that?" Harry asked, seeing Nicolas finish.

"That is the Floo network Harry. Our world can communicate via fire in a similar fashion to the Muggle telephone. We can also travel via the Floo network to anywhere else that has a connection to the Floo network, unless it is warded against unauthorised visitors. Now, it appears letters sent by you to your friends are being printed in the Daily Prophet and letters from Ronald are also being printed. He denies leaking them to the paper himself. I will perform a test on you."

Nicolas took out his wand and waved it across Harry. He looked at the results.

"It seems a mail diverting charm has been placed on you. It is programmed to send any letter you send to a Rita Skeeter. It is also programmed to send any letter addressed to you to her." Nicolas waved his wand over Harry and he glowed. "I have removed the charms. If you will excuse me, I will deal with this."

At the offices of the Daily Prophet, reporter Rita Skeeter was giving a couple of rolls of parchment to her editor. Then Nicolas came in.

"What can I do for you?" the editor asked.

"I want to know by what right Rita Skeeter has placing mail diverting charms on my apprentice Harry Potter. Because of these charms, he has not been receiving his mail and any mail he sends has been diverted to Rita here." Nicolas said.

The editor looked like he was going to spit razor blades. "You told me that you were given these by the Weasley boy!"

"He's the Boy-Who-Lived!" Rita protested, "It's in the public interest to know what is in his letters!"

"At the expense of Harry not having friends over it or not even receiving his Hogwarts letters?" Nicolas said. Rita didn't say anything.

"This is what will happen," Nicolas said, "You will fire Rita Skeeter for illegal use of mail diverting charms. Then, in tomorrow's paper, you will print a full apology, not only to my apprentice but also to the Weasley family. If it does not, I will take legal action. Good day to you."

The following article appeared in the Daily Prophet the next day.

_**AN APOLOGY TO HARRY POTTER AND THE HOUSE OF WEASLEY**_

_Readers may be aware of the publication of letters between Boy-Who-Lived Harry Potter and his best friend Ronald Weasley. Our reporter told us that they were donated by Ronald Weasley. It has been discovered that this was a lie._

_As some of you may know, Harry Potter is the apprentice of Nicolas Flamel who discovered that Prophet reporter Rita Skeeter placed mail interception charms on Mr. Potter at Kings Cross Station at the end of term. Unless being used by the Auror service in a criminal investigation, they are illegal to use._

_Rita Skeeter has been fired from her post at the Daily Prophet for her use of illegal charms and we have informed the Auror service of her infractions._

_We wish to apologise to both Mr. Potter and the Weasley family for this obvious breech of privacy._

The Weasleys were a lot happier following the apology. The editor of the Prophet had given them Rita Skeeter's wages for the month, totalling 150 galleons along with 500 galleons compensation. It meant no second hand items for them this year.

Two days later, Harry had managed to master the summoning charm and had managed to summon Perenelle's chocolate cake without sending it flying into Nicolas' face. He had also mastered switching spells, many duelling and defence spells and had mastered several fifth year potions.

"I've heard a rumour that Dumbledore has hired Gilderoy Lockhart as the Defence teacher this year," Nicolas explained, "from what his books, he appears to be a fraud. What I am teaching you will help you pass the exam, assuming he doesn't give you any questions about himself. I want you to keep an eye on Lockhart and report back to me anything that he does wrong. I have a bit of influence and hiring a fraudulent teacher which disrupts the learning of an apprentice while at school can be a serious offence."

"I can't believe that idiot's set his entire published works – some families are going to struggle with this." Perenelle said.

"We're going to meet the Weasley family at the Leaky Cauldron," Nicolas said, "While as your Master, I will be paying for your supplies but you may take some money out of your vault to buy any personal items you may wish. Have you got your key?"

"No sir," Harry said, suddenly getting formal, "Hagrid had it but he didn't give it to me afterwards."

"That is serious. By withholding your key, he is committing an offence. He was probably doing it on Dumbledore's orders so it'll be best not to press charges against him. We'll have the locks changed on the Potter vaults and order an immediate audit on the contents, to make sure Dumbledore hasn't been getting sticky fingers."

After explaining how the Floo worked, Nicolas flooed to Diagon Alley followed by Harry then Perenelle. They saw the Weasley group and walked over.

"Harry, this is my mother and father." Ron said. Harry shook hands with them. "And this is my little sister Ginny." He indicated a shy girl hiding behind Mrs. Weasley.

The group walked into Diagon Alley and headed towards the bank. While Mrs. Weasley took Ron and Ginny to the Weasley vault (which was now healthier thanks to the 750 galleon compensation package from the Daily Prophet), Nicolas took Harry to one of the tellers.

"Good morning Master Flamel. What can Gringotts do for you today?" a goblin asked.

"My apprentice would like the locks on all the Potter vaults changed and he would also like to know if anyone besides himself have been in the vaults since October 31st, 1981 please." Nicolas said.

"Very well. I will need a drop of blood on this parchment to prove Mr. Potter is who he says he is." The goblin said. With a goblin dagger, Harry pricked his finger and dripped a drop of blood on the parchment. The goblin took it away and ten minutes later came back with a new set of keys.

"I thought I only had one vault?" Harry asked.

"No, the Potters have several vaults, but you can't access them until your 17th birthday. The only reason your locks are being changed is because you are in a Master/Apprentice relationship with Master Flamel and he can authorise such things. According to our records, Master Flamel, Albus Dumbledore has made several attempts to access the vaults since October 1981 but has been unsuccessful due to James Potter's security requirements." The goblin said.

"Thank you," Nicolas said, "we would now like to go down to my own vault and Harry's trust vault."

They met up with the Weasleys half-an-hour later and they went to do their shopping. Ron, Percy, Ginny and the twins all got brand new robes and supplies. Then there was the disastrous trip to Flourish and Blotts. After Gilderoy Lockhart gave Harry his complete published works, he gave them to Ginny Weasley, thinking that the money the Weasleys would save on this particular set would help then the group had to bump into the Malfoys of all people.

"I think it is a waste, taking Mr. Potter on as your apprentice," Lucius Malfoy said, "Considering he barely made it through the first year. My son, however, would be a better choice."

"Considering your best friend Severus Snape fixed grades, I will not be changing my choices, Lucius." Nicolas said, "My apprentice retook all his exams and without anyone to force him to hold back or biased teachers rigging grades, he ended up second of his year. Good day to you, sir."

Then Lucius decided to make a few jibes about the Weasleys either stealing the money or selling Ginny into a marriage to be able to buy the new stuff and he and Arthur Weasley ended up in a major punch-up. Nicolas and Hagrid (who was there to get some supplies for his job) managed to break them apart before Lucius could cast the Cruciatus curse.

"He's not worth it Arthur." Nicolas said before pulling him away.

The group left, leaving the Malfoys speechless. They went back to Madam Malkin's to pick up Harry's new Hogwarts robes, which now had the Apprentice symbol on them – Nicolas had explained that it was a legal requirement and it would also prevent interference from Dumbledore and Snape.

Before everyone left to go home, Nicolas and Mrs. Weasley had a conversation.

"Harry – you're going to the Weasleys for two weeks towards the end of the holidays. You will have earned the time off but I will give you a few assignments to do while you're there." Nicolas said.

"Thank you Mrs. Weasley." Harry said.

"No problem dear." Mrs. Weasley said.

Before everyone went their separate ways, Nicolas took an old looking book out of Ginny's cauldron. He explained he had seen Lucius Malfoy slip it in after the fight and would investigate it for dark magic.

The next day, Nicolas informed Harry that their lesson for the day would be what he and Perenelle called 'Dursley Tormenting'. At first, Harry thought it meant using the Dursleys to practice curses and hexes on (which he wouldn't have minded) but was stunned to find themselves in an expensive clothes shop.

"Why are we here?" Harry asked.

"You need new clothing, especially Muggle stuff that fits you. Thanks to a few listening charms, we found out Vernon and Petunia were taking Dudley here to buy new clothes today."

They had walked over to a sales girl. "My grandson here is in need of a complete new wardrobe. Pay particular attention to the sections that family (pointing at the Dursleys) are at, but the size my grandson needs please."

"I'll do what I can for you sir." She said. The girl measured Harry, then went all over the store to find the best clothing, stunning Vernon and Petunia when she took clothing and shoes from the same sections they were looking at.

One by one, the clothes were tried on and the ones Harry liked were put in a pile while ones he wasn't too keen on went on another pile. Vernon saw who was trying on the clothes and started to go purple.

"Is that is it sir?" the girl asked Nicolas.

"Yes is it thank you miss." Nicolas answered. He helped her take the clothes to the till so the prices could be rung up. He asked the girl to contact security, but discreetly, just in case of trouble. As the girl bagged up the clothing, Nicolas gave the bags to Harry. Vernon and Dudley tried to snatch them from him but with no luck. The spoilt brat started with his fake crying.

"DAD!" Dudley said, with the fake tears, not caring if he embarrassed himself, "I want that stuff! Get that stuff off the freak for me! He doesn't deserve it, only my old clothes!"

Ignoring them, Harry turned and walked away. The Dursleys looked open-jawed as the final tally was rung up – just over £1,250. Nicolas also gave the girl on the till a very generous tip for her help. Nicolas, Perenelle and Harry walked out peacefully while Dudley began to throw a temper tantrum. None of his friends were there, so he didn't care.

The second part of the 'Dursley Tormenting' came that evening. Nicolas and Perenelle had called a meeting of the entire area. The Dursleys stumbled across it.

"Now, this is my grandson Harry on his father's side," Nicolas began, "I've heard that Vernon and Petunia Dursley have been spreading lies about him and my son." Of course, Nicolas wasn't really James' father but they weren't to know that.

"First, they say Harry is a thug and a thief," he continued, "Has anyone actually seen him bully people or steal things? Can anyone prove anything?"

People spoke among themselves and realised they hadn't seen him.

"My son said Dudley Dursley beat him up and threatened to have his father shoot him unless he said Harry did it!" one person said, "We confronted Mr. Dursley about it and he said it was all lies."

Everyone realised that what their children said about Dudley committing the crimes were true and what the Dursleys had said were lies. But that was not the end.

"Also, they told you my son was an unemployed drunken lout and my daughter-in-law was a prostitute who got high on drugs," Nicolas continued, "THAT IS A BUNCH OF LIES WHICH DISHONORED THEM! My son was a police officer and my daughter-in-law was about to become a Government researcher at the time of their deaths. And don't get me started on those lies about them being drunk while in charge of a car – they didn't even know how to drive! They were murdered by a known terrorist who killed himself when his explosive device malfunctioned. Harry should have come to us but we were never informed until a few months ago as at the time, we were out of the country.

"Did none of you notice him wearing clothing that was too big for him? Did none of you notice that when they went on holiday, they left Harry behind? Did you notice how thin he was? Did you notice how they treated him like a slave while Dudley did nothing? Surly you can't believe they couldn't afford it with the amount they spent on their own son and the cars Mr. Dursley drives?

"They say Harry goes to a school for criminal boys. If anyone checks, they will find the school does not exist! Harry goes to a school for very gifted children in Scotland. Our family have attended the school for the past five hundred years! The Dursleys did not want Harry to go there because it would show them up and destroyed his admittance letters before he got the chance to read them! If anyone is guilty of criminal misconduct, it is them!"

Everyone stopped to think about things and in the end, they were very ashamed of how they let Harry down. The Dursleys were totally humiliated. There was no way they could talk their way out of it. Nicolas deliberately avoided any mention of the cupboard.

When the Dursleys returned home, they found the Dudley hand-me-downs burning in the garden, the house windows wide open (and because of it, the house was smelling which drove Petunia mad), chocolate cake crumbs were on a table and an empty bottle of very expensive fizzy drink that Dudley only had on occasion was also on the table. There was even a note saying that everything that belonged to Harry or his parents or the Evans family that was supposed to go to Lily had been removed. There was a list accompanied by a photocopied list of Lily and Petunia's parent's wills.

There was a different lesson the following day. Nicolas led Harry into a spare room where he put down the book he took from Ginny Weasley at Diagon Alley.

"This book is filled with Dark Magic," he explained, "It was lucky we found it when we did, otherwise the consequences would have been dire."

"What would have happened?" asked Harry.

"I'm only telling you this so you know what sort of Dark Magic there is," Nicolas said, "This is a soul fragment, known as a Horcrux. This diary was owned by a Tom Riddle who committed murder to create this. He must have known Lucius Malfoy in some way for him to have had this in his possession. If Ginny Weasley had started writing in it, the magic behind the soul fragment would have taken her over and there is a chance the fragment could have used her life energy to come to life."

"How do we dispose of it?" Harry asked.

Nicolas cast a powerful fire spell at the diary. It began to scream as it was destroyed. He then turned to Harry.

"I want you to promise me you'll never try to make a Horcrux yourself." He said.

Harry promised not to and swore an oath never to do so.

"I'm not sorry to have forced that Harry, but I will not have you ruin your life to try to achieve immortality."

A couple of days later, it was Harry's 12th birthday. Mrs. Weasley and Perenelle had gone all out to arrange a party for him, his first since his first birthday with his parents. The Weasley family were there (including Ginny who was being very shy). Hermione was also there, having returned from her holiday the day before.

During the party, Nicolas gave Harry a roll of parchment which he unrolled. In big letters at the top of the parchment were the words:

**CERTIFICATE OF ADOPTION**

Harry looked at Nicolas who decided to explain.

"Perenelle and I have spent many days discussing things and we have decided to adopt you as our own son. It will not affect anything involving the Potter holdings but this means that after we adopt you, you will become our heir."

"How did you convince the Dursleys to agree to this? They would never agree to this, especially after what happened the other day." Harry asked.

"We didn't – they didn't apply for any rights over you so we are well within the law. As I told you before, your parents wished for either us or Sirius Black to be your guardians. With him in Azkaban, there is no-one else to contest it, so we are making it official."

"Thank you." Harry said.


	4. Chapter 4

**This is my last chapter of Apprentice for a while because I am due in hospital tomorrow to have an operation on my leg. I will do what writing I can on this and my other stories while I am in there.**

**Chapter Four**

"There is nothing I can do Lucius." Fudge said, "You should know that unless there is a very good reason, a Master and Apprentice relationship cannot be broken."

"My son Draco tells me that Potter's marks were rubbish and he frequently under performed in Potions." Lucius Malfoy said.

"There is evidence that Severus Snape altered Mr. Potter's marks and the rest of his marks were due to fear from his relations. Mr. Potter has retaken his exams and has proven his worthiness to be an Apprentice, so there will be nothing done about it."

* * *

Harry came down for breakfast a few days later to find Nicolas having a floo conversation with Molly Weasley. Harry wasn't sure if his eyes were deceiving him or something, but it looked like a shield was surrounding the fireplace. Nicolas finished the conversation and turned to Harry as Mrs. Weasley's head vanished from the fire.

"Bad news Harry," he said, "Both Ron and Ginny have caught some sort of illness and it's contagious. We're going to have to put off your trip to the Burrow until they are both better and there is no trace of it anywhere. What you saw was a shield charm to prevent the virus coming through the floo to our home."

Harry's heart dropped – he had been looking forward to the visit and now it had been cancelled. He knew it wasn't anyone's fault but it was still disappointing.

"We'll make it up to you Harry. Molly says that if they don't get better before school restarts, you can spend some of the Christmas holidays with them."

"There is no need to make it up to me. I don't want to feel like Dudley." Harry said quietly.

"There is no question of making you feel like Dudley," Perenelle said, "Your cousin has been ruined by your aunt and uncle. Didn't you tell us that last year, after being disappointed at getting one less birthday present than the year before, they brought him an extra two to make up for it? That he faked a temper tantrum because they couldn't find a babysitter for you and you had to go to the zoo with them?"

Harry nodded.

"The two of us making things up to you for your disappointment at not going to the Burrow is completely different. You are not spoilt or ruined, there was a nice treat lined up for you but because Ron and Ginny are ill, it has to be postponed."

"I understand that and I know it's not their fault," Harry said.

"I'm pleased you do Harry," Nicolas said, "How would you like your friend Hermione to spend a few days with you here?"

"Yes please." Harry said.

A couple of hours later, Hedwig flew into the house with a reply from Hermione. Harry took it and read it out loud.

_Dear Harry (and Professor & Mrs. Flamel),_

_Thank you for your kind invitation to stay at your home. It couldn't have come at a better time – my parents are about to go to one of their very boring dental conventions and they normally leave me with an aunt and I hate her as much as you hate your aunt._

_I asked Mum and Dad if I could stay with you instead and they said they had no problem with it providing there are no problems with it at your end. They leave tomorrow if you want to arrange a time to collect me._

The letter went on about how much she looked forward to the trip and how much learning could be done.

"Send her a letter back Harry telling her that there is no problem whatsoever and we'll pick her up at seven tonight." Nicolas said.

Harry wrote the note and got Hedwig to deliver it.

* * *

The final bout of Dursley Tormenting came with the arrival of the _Financial Times_ which was delivered by a Muggle delivery boy the following week. Nicolas said that since the Potters and himself had quite a few holdings in the Muggle world, it made sense to keep track of them via the financial papers.

_**GRUNNINGS CLOSED DOWN**_

_**COMPANY DIRECTOR UNDER INVESTIGATION**_

_**FOR ALLEGATIONS OF FRAUD, EMBEZZLEMENT AND CHILD ABUSE**_

It had interviewed the Masons and got all sorts of dirt regarding the Dursleys. After the client spilt the beans to other clients and people about what sort of people the Dursleys were like, Grunnings' share price fell to a very low figure and the shareholders went bankrupt as they couldn't sell their shares.

Then the Inland Revenue got called in and investigated discrepancies in the finances of Grunnings and found that Vernon was pocketing very large amounts of Grunnings money and blackmailing certain people to keep quiet about it. It was also discovered that Vernon wasn't paying any taxes. The article also stated that to prevent Grunnings workers from suffering because of it, they were being offered good jobs with other companies.

Nicolas smiled when he finished reading the story in the paper.

"And that's what it's all about." He said. He was satisfied, Vernon and the Dursleys had paid for the way they treated Harry. "We told you that the Dursleys would pay for what they had done to you. Nobody hurts family."

"Thank you." Harry said.

* * *

People spoke up about the way Dudley had treated them and how Vernon and Petunia encouraged it. He was sentenced to five years in a juvenile detention facility. Vernon was charged with a multitude of crimes and was sentenced to fifty years in prison (the Home Secretary imposed most of it because he cheated the tax man and depriving the government of money so they could have their expensive Rolex watches and multiple cars and overseas homes in addition to their undeserved pay rises and expense accounts was a big no-no). Petunia left the country, too ashamed to show her face around Privet Drive again.

* * *

Nicolas continued Harry's apprenticeship. Hermione watched as her best friend was being educated.

"Why don't you join us Hermione?" Nicolas asked.

"Yes please." She said, eager to learn, "But isn't there a Ministry rule saying Muggleborns can't become apprentices?"

"Yes there is," Nicolas said, "but the Ministry have NO way to know that you are being educated here. There is no law saying Muggleborns aren't allowed to read magical books outside of Hogwarts. If this was the case, there would be no point in giving out homework." Hermione looked shocked at the idea of not being given homework.

"But, won't they know I'm performing magic? Before we left for the holidays, we got notes reminding us not to perform magic during the holidays." Hermione asked.

"Tuuuut." Nicolas said, "Did you know that only Muggleborns or those raised in Muggle households get warning letters if magic is performed outside of school? Your friend Ron could cast all the spells he wanted at his home and not get a warning letter."

"Not that he could cast many." Harry said to Hermione and she had to agree.

"That's wrong!" Hermione said.

"I'm afraid it's one of the Ministry's many anti-muggleborn laws. People like Lucius Malfoy pay huge sums for laws like these to be passed because they think Muggleborns should not be allowed in our world.

Over the next few weeks, she and Harry continued to learn, Hermione did very well.

"You're quite good Hermione." Nicolas said at the end of her stay, "Sadly, as the law states Muggleborns can't be taken on as apprentices, I can't invite you to be an apprentice too but I am prepared to be your sponsor."

"What does that mean?" Hermione asked.

"A Pureblood can sponsor a Muggleborn student through their time at Hogwarts. It means that they will be their liaison between Muggle parents and the wizarding world. For instance, if Hogwarts had to send a letter saying you had been injured, it would come to me and I would inform your parents, but you would still receive your Hogwarts letters as usual. A Muggleborn with a Pureblood sponsor would have more rights and it can carry a lot of weight."

"You would do that for me?" Hermione asked.

"Yes I would," Nicolas said, "I would have to speak to your parents first."

Nicolas took Hermione's parents aside the following day and explained a lot of things to them.

"That McGonagall woman never told us this." Mr. Granger said.

"There's a lot of things Hogwarts don't tell the Muggleborns thanks to the Pureblood brigade." Nicolas said, "I maybe a pureblood myself but I support Muggleborns – without them, we'd have died out years ago and there isn't a spell invented that Hermione can't do. The thing is, extreme purebloods marry cousins – everyone is related to someone one way or the other and after generations, the blood gets tainted and they lose their magical abilities. Some end up producing Squibs – people born to magical parents but have no magic while others just don't have as much power. Hogwarts lessons have been changed to make things too easy, just because of the Purebloods." Nicolas said.

"So, what do we have to do about this sponsorship thing?" Mrs. Granger asked.

"Just give your written consent to allow me to sort out magical issues involving Hermione. I would handle the Ministry or Hogwarts with issues, but I would inform you as soon as I got a letter from either place involving her. I would also be the agent should someone wish to negotiate a marriage contract, but I would give Hermione the choice to choose. Although, if things go the way I think they're going, contracts might not be necessary, but we might have to get something in writing eventually. I would also handle financing of the Hogwarts fees. Finally, if anything were to happen to you, then custody of Hermione would go straight to me, then I and only I can authorise her placement with someone written in your will."

"Are you sure about all this?" Mr. Granger asked.

"I have no children myself," Nicolas said, "Harry is our adoptive son and heir but he is still heir to the Potter fortune and that is worth a lot more than my estate, but I can still afford to pay for Hermione to be put through Hogwarts without leaving too much of a dent."

"We accept your kind offer, Professor Flamel." Mr. Granger said. The papers were signed, sealed and delivered within minutes.

* * *

Later that day, Harry went to Nicolas.

"I remember hearing about a person called Sirius Black during my parent's will reading. But I can't find anything out about him. Who is he?" Harry asked.

Please review, with thanks to those who do.


End file.
